Tell Me You Love Me
by KP02
Summary: AU In which Loki is mostly a gentleman, and Darcy is a tattoo artist. Bets are fulfilled, dinner is had, and love sometimes takes time to come around.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay yeah. I should be updating Frosted Avengers. But I'm desperately avoiding writing an action scene, namely because I suck at them, so then I saw this prompt that was just like "AU in which half your OTP is a tattoo artist, the other half is a florist." And then this came out, kind of half that, half coffee shop AU? But yeah, lemme know what you think, and FA shall be updated soon! By this weekend, probably. :)**

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><p>Honestly, Darcy couldn't help but notice him. The coffee shop she frequented wasn't that big, and someone who showed up in a slacks and a button up everyday was certainly different from the normal clientele, who looked more like…well, more like her. Leather jacket, tanktop, tattoos, multiple piercings… It was on that side of town, and he stood out like a sore thumb.<p>

A very nice looking sore thumb. Tall and lean, but she was sure there were some nice abs under that shirt. And when he rolled up the sleeves on warm days, she nearly started drooling. Not to mention his eyes. Bright emerald green, the kind featured in romance novels. It was enough to make a girl lose her head.  
>But all she did was look. He was definitely off limits, they were obviously different. He looked like the type of guy who wanted one of the housewives straight out of the fifties, and she definitely wasn't that type of girl.<p>

Although she'd bet he was good in bed. The smile he directed at the cashier was always equal parts naughty and nice, and she wouldn't mind seeing the rest of the naughty.

She was sitting in the corner, sipping a pumpkin spice latte and not so inconspicuously checking out his ass, when he turned, those green eyes meeting hers. She almost couldn't stop the blush that seemed to rise automatically, but she met his gaze with a raised eyebrow.

Oh yeah, there was that smile. His eyes looked her over for a brief moment before he had to turn to get his coffee. She gave a sigh that was equal parts relief and disappointment and turned her attention back to the sketchbook she'd been doodling in, new ideas for designs.

She jumped a little when a throat cleared right next to her and looked up. She could feel her eyes widening when she saw him.

"I've seen you in here before." Wow, he even had a bit of a British accent. Darcy was pretty sure she was in love with his voice.

"Um. Yeah. I come here a lot." Well that was eloquent. Think, Darcy!

"I've seen you too?" She offered. Hell, she couldn't have missed him. He gave a smile, more just a quirk of the lips, then motioned to the seat across from her.  
>"May I?" He asked politely and she just nodded. This was all too surreal.<p>

"I noticed your tattoo and was wondering where you got it." He explained abruptly. Now that made sense. Her tattoo was pretty epic. A dragon, winding its way around her body, the only part showing when she had clothes on was a bit that ran across her back and shoulders, then the head that went down her left arm. She was still working on getting it fully colored in, green and black being the main colors. She grinned at him.

"You thinking about a tattoo?" She asked, evaluating him all over again. Yeah, he'd be a fun one. The ink would just contrast so nicely with his pale skin…she licked her lips, already itching to do it. He looked a little nervous, drumming his fingers on the table, but nodded.

"Yes. A bet gone sideways, but I want it to look nice. Yours is…artistic." Well that was certainly a polite way to put it. She nodded though, flipping through her sketchbook to a fresh page.

"All right, what sort of design were you thinking of?"


	2. Chapter 2

Perhaps pretending he wanted a tattoo had not been the best choice. But after weeks of considering how to approach the infuriatingly attractive woman, it had seemed like the best choice. He'd attempted to ignore her the first few times he'd seen her. It should have been easy. She wasn't that remarkable. Certainly gifted in certain areas, but otherwise he wouldn't have given her a second glance.

But somehow, every time he came in for coffee, he kept looking at her, wondering if she always got the same coffee. Wondering what she would say if he actually asked her out.

And he finally thought he got the courage up to do so, and he got roped into this. Perhaps he really was as dumb as Thor. A horrifying thought, truly, considering his brother thought of nothing but women and fine food. Loki took pride in setting himself apart from his brother. Even if it did mean ostracizing himself.

But at the moment, that wasn't important. What was important was the fact that he was standing in front of a building that looked as though it was as likely to fall over as stay standing. A neon sign was in the window, advertising tattoos and body piercings in piercing lights that just made his headache worse. It was evening, the only time that he could get, unless he just wanted to go at an ungodly hour, before he even took care of the plants at his shop. Evening just seemed like a better choice. After a couple of fortifying drinks. He took a deep breath and started for the door. His hand was on the handle when a shout stopped him.

"Loki! Hey, Loki!" He turned to see the woman, Darcy. Darcy Lewis. Once more, a common name, that he found himself liking more because it was attached to her. How fascinating. He smiled at her.

"Darcy Lewis. What a surprise." He said pleasantly. And it was, he had no idea she was going to be here. Perhaps she was getting something done as well.

"You too! I figured you'd wimp out, honestly. C'mon, let's get warm inside and we'll look at the design we did up again." She told him with a warm smile. She had to be ten years younger than him, and he was definitely going to some sort of special hell for the thoughts he was having, but he opened the door, allowing her to go in first. It was surprisingly brightly lit inside and clean. There was a small waiting area and a receptionist desk in the front, the rest of the space was curtained off, presumably to give the customers privacy. Darcy waved cheerfully at the receptionist, a pretty brunette with sleeves inked on each arm.

"Hey, Jane! I'm gonna take Loki here in the back, I don't have anyone scheduled, right?" She asked, and Loki blinked. Wait. Was she an artist? Well, that certainly made sense. The receptionist, Jane, looked at the computer and gave a thumbs up.

"You're good to go, Darce. Try to be done by three though, Bones is coming in and you know how he gets." Darcy just nodded, and the next thing that Loki knew, he was being dragged behind one of the curtains.

"Do you-" He broke off, feeling like an idiot, not a common occurrence for him. She arched an eyebrow.

"Own the place? Yes. Surprising, right? Most people don't guess it at first. Do you have the sketch we worked out?" She asked him in a rapid-fire fashion, hand on one cocked hip, and his mouth went dry before he reached in his pocket, pulling out the folded paper and handing it to her. He'd decided on going with a play on his name and doing the word mischief in Norse runes, a serpent devouring its own tail surrounding it. Rather large for his first one, but he never did like doing things halfway, this included. She inspected the drawing, the nodded and motioned to the seat.

"Okay, I'm gonna get everything ready. You take off your shirt and lay down."


End file.
